The Plan
by HeddersTheOwl
Summary: Fred enlists Hermione's help for a prank on Umbridge but ends up discovering feelings he never thought existed
1. Chapter 1

All was quiet save for the turning of pages and scratching of quills in the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione Granger was double checking a fact from her Charms text book when a voice called out to her.  
"Hey Hermione…"  
Hermione looked up from her notes to see Fred's grinning face looming over her.  
"No."

"No what? You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Anything involving you is invariably going to also involve trouble and I'm trying to study for my OWLs. Nothing you suggest will possibly get me to help you out with whatever hare-brained scheme you have up your sleeve to prank someone."

"What if I told you my hare-brained scheme will seriously annoy Umbridge?"

"When can I start?"

"That's my girl."

"…so then George and I will hide the kippers in the lining of her armchair! What do you think?" Fred whispered. He and Hermione had moved out into the corridor near Sincorat the Sycophantic's statue to avoid the plot being over-heard by others.

"Well," Hermione considered, "the set-up's pretty good but you really want to put in all that work just to stick fish in her chair? Surely there's more you can do with the time in there."

"What sort of thing did you have in mind?"

"Well I don't know. You could turn _everything_ in her office into a fish while you're at it or something."

"Do you really think I would be able to turn all her furniture into aquatic creatures in the space of five minutes?" Fred replied doubtfully.

"I think if it's you, you could do anything if you set your mind to it." Said Hermione matter-of-factly. Luckily for Fred, the corridor was dark, so Hermione couldn't see the blush that spread over his face as she said this.

"Wow Hermione, I never expected that coming from the brightest witch of her –mmfphble" Fred's words were cut off by Hermione's hand over his mouth. He looked down at her, confused, but soon realised why as she pointed wordlessly down the corridor. Lamplight was spilling around the corner from a lantern most likely carried by Argus Flich, the school caretaker. With barely a second's notice Fred grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her into a nearby dark alcove. There wasn't much space in said alcove so it was impossible for them to both stay in there without awkwardly hugging each other and there was no time for them to find a new place to hide as Flich shuffled down their corridor. Hermione's breath was hot against Fred's face and he struggled to stay calm. _She's Hermione_ he told himself, _just Hermione. She's not a girl, she's just Hermione._

"Are you ok Fred?" Hermione murmured, looking concerned. Fred jerked his head and gave a twitch of a smile, despite the fact that this close proximity to Hermione Granger was making his whole body feel like it had been set on fire. He had never felt like this with Hermione before. Was it her willingness to help out? Was it her ingenious addition to the plan? Was it the compliment she gave him earlier? Was it just that she was really close right now? Really, really…really _very _close. How close was she going to get? Almost as if he had heard the thoughts running through Fred's mind, Filch suddenly stopped walking right beside their alcove. Hermione pressed even tighter towards Fred and the wall. Fred bit his lip to keep himself from groaning. He had faced Bludgers, Flich's monstrous cat and his mother in a rage. Nothing, absolutely nothing he had encountered could possibly compare to the torture of right what seemed like an hour, Filch finally shuffled down the full length of the corridor and out of sight. The pair of them breathed a sigh of relief and Hermione made to take a step back, but Fred grabbed her in again.

"Fred, what are you-"Hermione began but was unable to finish her question because Fred's lips were in the way of her mouth. Fred kissed her passionately for a long time; only breaking off for air after his lungs started to hurt as much as his heart had seconds ago. It was the best kiss he'd ever had. _And it was with Hermione Granger._  
He clapped a hand to his mouth at this sudden realisation. For the whole of the kiss he had felt like he was dreaming, floating on air, that everything was perfect. Now, as he was struck back to reality he couldn't believe what had happened. _What the bloody hell did I just do? _He peeked up at Hermione, hoping against hope it hadn't really happened but nope, there she was, panting and shocked; hair even more mussed up than usual; and clothes slightly crumpled. They looked each other in the eye for a long second until Fred looked away.

"So, well, I, um- If that's the whole plan then I guess I'll just be going back to-uh," Hermione said, backing out of the alcove and turning to leave again.

"Wait!" Fred cried out, grabbing her arm. Hermione spun round and yanked her arm out of his grip, wary of more forced kisses. Then she pulled out her wand and pointed it at his face, backing him up against the wall with sudden fury dancing in her eyes.

"What do you want from me Fred? Is this you playing a joke on me? Make fun of the weird smart girl and see how she reacts? Watch to see how far you can push her?" She pushed her wand even closer to his face. "Don't you dare mess with me again Fredrick Gideon Weasley or I will blast you into oblivion."

With this she turned and swept back down towards Gryffindor Tower, leaving Fred feeling mortified. He sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands. He was such an _idiot_. What was he thinking kissing her like that? _Of course she'd be angry; you don't even know how you feel about her right now._ He groaned. How is he supposed to make up to her for _this_?


	2. Chapter 2

"Fred, are you okay?"  
Fred sat up in bed and looked at his twin brother and shook his head. It was the morning after the kiss and Fred did not feel at all well. His head ached from going over and over what happened, his muscles hurt from all the pacing he'd done after Hermione left and he felt incredibly tired from lack of sleep. All in all, he was not okay. He was far from okay.

"What's up mate? Hey, did you manage to get Hermione in on the plan?" said George, perching on the side of Fred's bed and grinning. Fred groaned and fell back onto his pillows.

"It didn't exactly…go how I wanted it to." He replied, staring up at his four-poster ceiling.

"Did she not want to do it?"

"Oh no, she was fine with the prank it's just…what I did after she didn't like."

"What _did_ you do after?" said George, sounding alarmed. Fred cringed. This wasn't going to be easy to explain.

"I…I might've…slightly…um…kissed her." Fed answered, trailing off into silence. When George didn't say anything, Fred sat up again to see his expression. His twin's eyes were wide and his jaw had dropped. After a long time of George just staring at him like this, Fred laughed awkwardly, waving his hand in front of his brother's face. "Hey bro, feel like talking anytime soon?" George snapped out of his shock and his face turned murderous. He got onto his knees on Fred's bed and advanced towards him.

"You did _what?"_ Fred was getting backed up against the wall again; he had never seen his brother this angry.

"I kissed her! I kissed her!" said Fred, holding up his hands in case George started hitting him.

"What the _hell_ Fred? She's our friend; you can't go around messing with her! I can't believe you! You're such an idiot! What about Ron?"

This last question totally threw him, "What has Ron got to do with it?"

George looked at him disbelievingly. "What do you mean "has Ron got to do with it"? You can't have not noticed it can you?"

Fred was totally confused. "Do you seriously not know? Ron likes Hermione! As in _likes her _likes her. You can't kiss her! He'll hate you."

Fred went pale. He'd had no idea that Ron liked Hermione. He groaned again. "Now two people will hate me."

It was George's turn to look confused. "Who else hates you? I was mad but I don't hate you. What are you talking about?"

"Oh I know you don't hate me. Hermione does though. She thinks I was playing a joke on her when I kissed her, she thinks I was just making fun of her. I don't know what to do George." Fred buried his head in his hands for the millionth time since yesterday evening. George looked surprised.

"Wait, you didn't mean it as a joke?" Fred's head snapped up to look at George incredulously.

"Of course it wasn't a joke! I wouldn't joke about that! You think I would do that?" George looked away guiltily. "If I was kidding around do you think I'd be this torn up about it?"

"Well…sorry I was wrong about why you did it…but wait, if you weren't messing about then why the hell _did_ you kiss her?"

"I don't know! I don't know why I did it and until I figure it out I can't go and talk to her about it." Fred sighed and leaned against the wall. "I don't know what to do George."

George stood up. He wanted to help his brother but nothing could be done until Fred cleared up how he felt. "Figure it out and then do what you have to do. Just don't beat yourself up about it too much. You'll get enough of that from me and Ron if you end up hurting her." He said, and then left for breakfast, calling out "I guess we'll be putting the plan on hold for a while then!"

For the rest of that week, Fred was definitely not his usual self. He didn't tell any jokes, he smiled less often and his shoulders were slumped. Even the teachers had noticed. Eventually he was called in to see Professor McGonagall. Before she could speak as he came through the door he said, "Whatever it is it wasn't me. I haven't done anything for a week so you can't tell me off."

McGonagall gave a wry smile and replied "Doing nothing bad for a week should not be a surprising achievement Mr Weasley. Besides, you're not here because I'm angry. Sit down and have a biscuit." Fred slumped down into a chair and took a ginger nut one, nibbling on it as the professor continued, "I'm glad that you seem to have stopped causing a nuisance and I hope you are using this time spent out of detention to study for your NEWTs but you seem to have lost your spirit. Is anything the matter Fred?"

Fred looked down at her desk. He hadn't expected this. Was it that obvious that he was depressed? "I'm fine professor. Really fine. Perfectly happy. Never been better." He gave an unconvincing smile which he dropped as she raised her eyebrows.

"Weasley, odd as it may seem, I was young once too. I can tell when my students are having a bad time. I have to say you being, shall we say, unhappy and Hermione Granger-" Fred looked up at Hermione's name and McGonagall gave a small smile "-seeming out of sorts seems like quite the coincidence. Is she part of the reason you aren't acting yourself lately?"

Fred blushed, his mind racing. Hermione was acting different too? Every time he had seen her since the incident he had hidden behind someone or left the room, so he hadn't had the chance to see how she doing. He had tried asking George but he had refused to give him any information, telling him to ask Hermione himself. "Is she…is Hermione…does she seem angry?"

McGonagall looked surprised, "Rather than angry she looks sad. Just as sad as you have been these past few days. If you really want to know how she's feeling then go and ask her. It's not like you to lack confidence." Her wry smile fixed itself back into place, "In fact I think you've had rather too much confidence during your last few years at Hogwarts." She stood up and, as Fred had finished his biscuit, ushered him to the door, saying, "Well I am glad that there isn't anything dangerous troubling you and I hope you cheer up some time soon. See you in class Mr Weasley."

_So, Hermione had been affected by this too, _thought Fred, pacing about his dormitory after his meeting with McGonagall. _Should I be happy that's she might be thinking about me or sad that she's not happy? How do I feel about anything?_ Fred stopped and ran his hands through his hair. _Everyone I talk to tells me to go and talk to her, but I don't. Why is that? Am I…scared that she'll be angry at me?_ _Come on Fred, you're a Gryffindor. You should be able to talk to one girl. Even if she's the girl…_ He looked at the wall, finally thinking the thought he'd be avoiding all week: _Even if it's the girl I love. _For the first time in days, Fred smiled properly as a wave of relief washed through him. He had finally let himself believe it, everything clicked into place. The way his heart beat faster every time her thought of her, the way it hurt when he thought of her with Ron-it all made sense!  
Now that he knew he liked her in that way, he felt as if he would be able to talk to her without feeling guilty. She couldn't blame him for being in love. He loved her. Now that he wasn't wondering what this feeling was or why he kissed her or whether or not he was a terrible person, he could finally realise that it was amazing. The girl who reprimanded him for staying up late, the girl who set up Dumbledore's army, the girl who looked absolutely beautiful in her dress at the Yule Ball._ She's smart and funny and caring and I love her_ thought Fred, literally punching the air. _I get to be in love with her! Hermione! So now I have to tell her or I might explode, and I have to tell her now or I'll convince myself not to. _ He looked at his watch. It was 5pm on a Saturday; she should be in the Library. He started to run, not bothering to think up a plan. As long as he said how he felt it should be fine. He raced through the Common room and jumped through the Portrait hole, not caring about people staring, not caring about anything but seeing Hermione. He slid down banisters dangerously, slid around corners and knocked people over with hasty apologies, all with a huge grin on his face. He passed Professor McGonagall on his way who shook her head with a thin smile. Fred was most definitely back.

After what seemed to Fred like forever but was actually mere minutes he reached the Library corridor. He leaned against the wall to get his breath back. He didn't care if he messed up. He didn't care if she didn't like him back. He just had to tell her. He fixed his robes which had become dishevelled while he ran, took a deep breath and pushed open the door.


	3. Chapter 3

There she was. Hermione Granger sat alone at the table farthest from the doors, facing towards the shelves of old books. _When did she get so beautiful? _Fred thought as he wended his way towards her. She still had the same bushy hair, pale complexion and ink marks on her hands- but now Fred found them fascinating rather than detracting. Fred's mouth was dry by the time he reached her table; the confidence he had regained since discovering his feelings had been draining with every step farther into the Library. _I have to tell her_, he thought, clearing his throat to get her attention. Hermione jumped and, seeing that it was Fred, blushed to her roots. Fred hadn't expected this, so blushed back. Going by their last encounter, he thought she might still be mad at him. As they stared as each other in an awkward silence, Fred was beginning to wish she was in a rage. After about a minute of this, Hermione finally spoke.

"Fred I…I'm sorry." Fred boggled at her. Why would she be sorry? She wasn't the one who forced a kiss on an unsuspecting friend. She continued, "I shouldn't have threatened you. I thought you were being cruel, but then George told me you weren't making fun of me. I'm sorry Fred, I really am." She bit her lip and stared at the ground, obviously miserable. Fred only just managed to resist the urge to hug her. He didn't want her to think badly of him, especially with what he wanted to say. Instead, he reached out and softly moved her chin up so he could see her face. Her eyes shone with curiosity and an emotion which Fred couldn't quite determine. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. His heart beat harder than it ever had before. If he had any doubts left about his feelings, this moment would have laid them all to rest. He swallowed the lump which had risen up in his throat.

"Hermione, I'm the one who's sorry. I acted without thinking of your feelings and I ended up hurting both of us. I have to tell you Hermione." He whispered. He would never be able to tell her this at his normal volume.

"What is it?" She whispered back.

"I like you"

Hermione blinked, shifting back slightly. "I know you do."

Fred blinked back at her, "You knew?"

"Well, yes. It's obvious isn't it?" Fred being flummoxed made her even more confused. "We're friends aren't we? I wouldn't put up with you if we weren't friends" she grinned up at him.

"Yeah, we're friends."  
She smiled brilliantly, and then turned back to her charms essay- evidently under the impression she had sorted it all out.

Fred began to panic. She was just going to leave the conversation; she was going to think he only liked her as a friend; she would stay as far away from him as she was now; he would be unable to move their relationship farther; she would get married to Ron when she found out how he felt, have children, and want Fred to be happy for her-and he would smile for her because that's what he does; his heart would break for the first time for her, just as his first love was for her. His chest felt like it had been ripped open and he knew that as long as he loved her and she didn't understand; this pain would never leave him. All these terrible thoughts and emotions sped through his brain in a few seconds as his aching heart beat wildly. He took some deep breaths and tapped the girl he loved on the shoulder. She turned in her chair again with a '_what do you want _now_?' _look on her face, but before she could complain about being disturbed, Fred leaned down and stole a kiss. It was short, sweet and gentle. Fred pulled back with a ghost of a smile and murmured to a stunned Hermione, "Do you think I would do that if I only like you as a friend?" then straightened up and walked out of the room, trying to push the thought that some day she would be kissing someone else out of his head.

After a couple of days, Fred seemed almost back to normal. There was still a slight sadness to his expressions and he was lost in thought a lot more than before. George was worried about him, but was reassured that at least he was trying to get himself back. It was nearly Christmas and the castle was lavishly decorated as usual; holly, baubles and tinsel ordained the moving staircases; shimmering trees covered in enchanted ornaments lined the Great hall, where feasts even grander than usual; the suits of armour wore wreaths and paper hats; and the grounds were heaped in snow. In the Gryffindor Common room, a fire burning merrily in the grate, the Weasley twins were promoting all the Wizard Wheezes they had perfected during the term. As the 'Self Juggling Balls' were flying into the air in hypnotising circles from the table and the 'Fast Grow Flowers' were growing from their seeds, squirting water on the nearest person and collapsing back to bulbs for the seventh time in a row; raised voices caught Fred's attention. The muffled sounds came from the boys' dormitories, and one of the voices was Hermione's. No-one else seemed to have noticed it, Fred only heard because he had been listening out for her unconsciously since the night when he first kissed her. Not liking the idea of Hermione being found arguing by the rest of their House, Fred slipped up stairs to the dormitories-claiming to have left something in his room which he needed to show them (earning him a suspicious look from George, who knew for a fact all their products were down with them).

Closing the door to the Common room behind him, he could hear the argument more clearly, coming from the fifth year's room. He was annoyed, although not altogether surprised, that the other quarreller was his brother. The very brother George had claimed to be in love with the same girl as Fred was. _He has a funny way of showing it_ Fred thought as he opened the door. Ron and Hermione were standing at opposite sides of the room, arguing so heatedly they barely noticed his arrival. Harry was sitting on his four-poster looking resigned to a long night, nodding wearily at Fred as he sat beside him to watch the show.  
"You are such a chauvinistic PIG, no wonder Lavender dumped you!"

"What? At least I have interests outside of studying and being a snob!"

"Interests? Don't make me laugh! Being bad at Quidditch is _not _a hobby."

"At least I can make a broom go somewhere!"

They continued to bicker as Fred cast a silencing charm on the door; ensuring no-one in the Common room would hear them and investigate. "So," he said to Harry conversationally, watching Hermione's hair getting bushier and bushier as she got more aggravated, "What did my idiot little brother do this time?"

"He asked to copy the Charms essay she spent two days on," Harry replied, flopping onto his back and staring up at the fabric ceiling. "Although I don't know why it took her so long, she started it days ago."

Fred felt slightly guilty at this comment- he was reasonably sure that he was at least part of the reason why Hermione couldn't concentrate. He sat watching Hermione for a bit longer, marvelling at how good looking she was to him now. He could still see everything he used to think made her look, if not ugly, unattractive to him. Yet they seemed to make her more interesting now. Just as Fred had decided to leave before he broke his own heart with how wonderful she was, Ron did the stupidest thing he could have done while fighting with the brightest young witch in Hogwarts with one of her best friends and someone who was very much in love with her close at hand. He pulled out his wand. Two shield charms (Harry and Fred's) and a jelly-legs jinx (from a furious Hermione) hit him before he could open his mouth. Hermione gave him one of her signature withering looks and stormed out of the room.  
"You're such a moron." Fred told him as he wriggled about on the floor, his legs not obeying because of Hermione's spell. Fred left him to struggle, aiming a kick at him as he passed, walking out of the room to find Hermione.

He caught up with her a little way from the room. "Hermione," he said, looking into her face to see if she was okay, "Hermione, I'm sorry my brother's such a ba-" Hermione cocked an eyebrow, donning her '_I'm a Prefect remember' _expression, although her eyes looked a little watery "-boon. He's a baboon, not whatever else you might have thought I was going to call him."

Her lip twitched, "He _is_ a baboon."

Then, with no warning whatsoever, she buried her face in her hands and started sobbing. Fred was torn between wanting to comfort her and wanting to not scare her. Eventually he decided just to ask her.  
"Hermione, is it okay with you if I give you a hug? I know you only like me as a friend and I'm fine with that but I can't just stand here and watch you get hurt."

She looked up at him, her eyes suddenly fierce. She pushed him up against the wall, but unlike the last time she did this, she kissed him rather than threatened him. It was hotter, sweeter and all around better than any kiss he had ever had- even his first stolen kiss couldn't compare to this one. _Although a lot less damp than it should have been seeing as she's just been crying _said an errant voice in the back of Fred's mind. With difficulty he broke off the kiss, but before he could ask her about it she put her finger on his lips to shush him.  
She grinned up at him, stretched up and whispered in his ear, "Do you think I would do that if I only like you as a friend?"

Fred decided to ignore his thought for now, and he pulled her into a tight hug then started kissing her all the way down her neck. "Fred!" Hermione said with a laugh, "You haven't even asked me to be your girlfriend yet!"

"Oh yeah," he said, keeping her locked in a hug and looking into her face, their noses inches from each other, his eyes narrowed "I have a different question. Did you pretend to cry so that I would comfort you and we would end up like this?"

Hermione blushed but held his gaze, her tone matter-of-fact, "Well yes but we couldn't have got to _this_ if I hadn't now would we? It's not like you were going to ask me out otherwise is it? Speaking of which…" she raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.

Fred gave her a dazzling smile and dipped her as if they were dancing. "Be my girlfriend?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, grinning, "Yes."

Fred laughed, and pulled her back up for another kiss. They melted into each other, Fred feeling lightheaded and giddy. After several minutes, they broke off, breathing hard. "You may be sneaky but you're one hell of a kisser."

Hermione leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "You know Fred; you aren't the only one allowed to have a plan!"

Fred's eyes shone even brighter than earlier, and started speaking excitedly. "You know, we can still do that prank. We have all the parts ready, and now you're my girlfriend there's no way you'd refuse to do it. I mean, there's no way any girl could go against someone with such dashing good looks. We haven't been doing much and it would be great to come back with a bang. I'll still have to get some more materials and work out how many explosions we'll need and - oh yeah, better go tell George it's back on."  
He grabbed he hand suddenly and pulled her downstairs towards the Common Room, obviously not paying much attention to what was going on, focused on the plan totally. Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled as she was taken along. Umbridge was going to be in for a big surprise…

THE END


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